After Lu Chenzhou made that empty observation, he even glanced at Cheng Xi, and his meaning couldn"t have been more clear. Why haven"t I seen you do something like this in the name of love?
Cheng Xi was rendered speechless. "……"
But Lu Chenzhou seemed to take her silence as an indication that she didn"t understand what he had said. So, he elaborated, saying, "Chenming usually acts like a wallflower, but I was surprised that he almost started a fight with me because of you!"
This was an exaggeration; Lu Chenming wasn"t really about to fight anyone. Rather, he was just proclaiming his "priority."
Cheng Xi facepalmed. "That wasn"t me!"
"Someone pretending to be you is still you."
Cheng Xi couldn"t even respond, because Lu Chenzhou"s words weren"t wrong—from Lu Chenming"s point of view, someone pretending to be her might as well be her. Additionally, Cheng Yang and she were even twins. Not only did that fool take her name, but he also imitated her speech patterns and mannerisms and talked about her hobbies and interests. Of course, those who knew Cheng Xi well would still be somewhat doubtful as to whether it was truly Cheng Xi talking. After all, Cheng Xi wouldn"t have such a sly and crafty undertone even if she were making a joke, but Lu Chenming didn"t know her well at all. After he discovered that "icey" taught at a medical school and found out when her cla.s.ses were, he"d go over daily just to secretly watch his "sweetheart." And from what he knew of Cheng Xi, she was intelligent, talented, and even humorous. Just like "icey", right?
Cheng Xi looked at Lu Chenzhou. She could tell that Lu Chenzhou thought highly of his little brother, but for some reason, he truly wasn"t mad even when his little brother was being "teased." Instead, he was merely confused about how "love" could make someone change so much.
She started getting slightly choked up, and only after quite a while did she ask, "When you said that you"d give me to him if it was actually me messaging him, was that for real?"
Lu Chenzhou straightforwardly responded, "Yes."
Cheng Xi stared blankly at him.
"But you weren"t the person who responded, correct?"
Cheng Xi ground her teeth in frustration. "And what if it were?"
Lu Chenzhou didn"t even think before answering. "Then I"d give you to him!"
Cheng Xi clenched her teeth, preparing to beat him to death, but then Lu Chenzhou said, "Of course, I"d beat you up first before doing so."
How…… how savage.
But what was even more savage was that Cheng Xi was a little pleased by his savage response. She relaxed her jaw, and looked at him expectantly. "So in the end, is it because you"d be jealous?"
"No," Lu Chenzhou sharply countered. "It"s just that in that situation, I feel like no matter who you end up with, it"ll be troublesome for my brother and me."
……It was so reasonable that Cheng Xi had no response.
She could only accept his explanation for why he had been prepared to give her up, and in the process, she also had an epiphany that it was unrealistic to hope for this guy to unlock his emotions through jealousy. There was no fast way to absolve his mental condition. Thus, she stopped talking about these little things, and instead directly said, "Lu Chenzhou, let"s fight."
Lu Chenzhou evidently misunderstood what she meant by "fight" as he immediately agreed with an "Alright." He started taking his clothes off when he paused and said, "Let"s take a bath first."
Cheng Xi was shocked. "!!!"
She abruptly stopped him, her forehead lined with black streaks. "Not this sort of fight." She grabbed his hand and raised it to her face. "Will you slap me twice?"
Lu Chenzhou raised his eyebrows.
Cheng Xi"s face was serious. "Hit me hard. It"d be ideal if you left some sort of mark or something."
Lu Chenzhou was really confused now. "Why?"
Cheng Xi replied, "My brother was too rash and reckless this time, so I have to give him a harsh lesson. Otherwise, he won"t understand just how big of a mistake he made this time."
"So, because he bullied my younger brother, you want me to bully his older sister?"
Cheng Xi thought for a little before nodding.
Lu Chenzhou retrieved his hand and his expression turned similarly severe. "I don"t hit women." But as he said this, he leaned closer and bit her face. "But I can bite you."
Cheng Xi"s face was then bitten until it was swollen red all over.
……
Cheng Yang was staying next door. Currently, he was scrolling through his chat records with Lu Chenming. This fellow wasn"t reflecting on his actions, but was rather searching for a loophole in the logs and a way to get off of the hook.
Then, just as he thought that he might have seen something promising, he heard a sudden "Peng!" come from next door. It was muted, almost as if something had smashed onto the floor. He was so shocked that he jumped up.
His sister was next door, and for something like this to be happening now…… He quickly jumped off of the bed. When he opened the front door, he saw Lu Chenzhou step out of Cheng Xi"s apartment. His gaze was even frostier than usual, and his departure forceful.
Cheng Yang was shocked.
Were they fighting?
When Lu Chenzhou saw Cheng Yang, he didn"t even look at him as he slammed the door behind him with a loud "Bang!" and then stomped off furiously into the night.
This scene gace Cheng Yang a bad feeling. He leaped over towards the other apartment and scanned his fingerprint, only to find that it was invalid. He hurriedly entered his code, found that it too was invalid, and so could only resort to slamming on the door while shouting, "Cheng Xi! Cheng Xi! Are you alright?"
Cheng Xi calmly opened the door; her cheeks were red, her eyes watery, but her expression remained exceptionally calm.
"Jesus, he hit you?!" Cheng Yang was furious, and he rolled up his sleeves, about to rush out after Lu Chenzhou.
"He didn"t hit me." Cheng Xi called her brother back, her tone still cold.
Cheng Yang resentfully replied, "You"re even going to cover for him?" He pointed at her face. Right now, he felt like his blood was burning and his heart was pounding madly, as if the skin under his finger was about to erupt. Honestly, he was so mad that his eyes were even about to turn red. "If he"s not the one who hit you, then who else could have done it? You?!"
Cheng Xi obstinately replied, "Yes! I hit myself." She tilted her face towards him as she then said, "I feel like, given what"s happened, I don"t have the face to be with him anymore. So, I decided to break up with him. He refused, so I could only hit myself until he was willing to do so."
Cheng Yang frustratedly yelled, "Are you crazy?!"
Cheng Xi adamantly replied, "What else could I have done? Do you think that I could still be with him after all this?"
The siblings glared at one another, one calm and still, and the other angry and huffing. Finally, the angry and huffing one surrendered, stamping his feet and squatting on the floor. "Alright, I just need to tell him the truth and get his forgiveness without hurting him, right? I"ll do it!" Cheng Yang looked up at Cheng Xi, gritted his teeth, and unwillingly said, "I"ll do whatever you say, alright?"
He was such a cowardly man that he didn"t even have the courage to own up to what he had done.
Cheng Xi really wanted to strangle him!
Luckily, Cheng Yang at least truly did care for her, and he would do anything to pacify his only sister when she was upset. Thus, he had reluctantly promised to think of a way to explain things clearly to Lu Chenming without hurting him further, and he actually did find such a way.
It wasn"t a good idea to go to the Lu household—that would be too overt and public—this kind of matter was best settled privately.
On Monday, Lu Chenming had cla.s.s, so Cheng Yang planned on finding him then. That day, Cheng Xi coincidentally also had to go to the university, so they drove over together—the two schools were adjacent to each other, and even the front doors were right next to each other.
But because she didn"t feel at ease, Cheng Xi secretly tailed Cheng Yang. As if nothing had happened, he walked up to Lu Chenming"s cla.s.sroom with large, confident strides and asked a random pa.s.serby, "Ah, you, can you call out Lu Chenming for me?"
Lu Chenming was called out. He had a suspicious expression on his face, and when he saw Cheng Yang, he shyly asked, "Who"re you?"
Cheng Yang curled his finger at him, beckoning for him to approach.
Lu Chenming carefully took two steps forward.
Cheng Yang abruptly grabbed his neck, dragged him to a corner, and elbowed him viciously. "You little brat, are you the one who"s slandering my sister? Who"s saying that she"s a fickle and licentious woman?"
Cheng Xi, who had been following behind them all the while, saw the entire thing. "……."